The tragedy of cemeterial work: Exploring ethics between polis, kinship, and genos

Working in a cemetery carries ethical weight – getting it ‘right’ matters. How might tragedy help us to illuminate the meaning, nature and ethical significance of this work? This paper draws from a feminist reading of the Greek tragedy Antigone, via the theoretical work of Adriana Cavarero, to show what we can learn about the ethico-political significance of cemeterial work as an enactment of grievability. It showcases the power of tragedy through vignettes drawn from a research project on cemeterial work in the UK and Italy, offering valuable insight into the ethical challenges such work entails, as well as its ethical importance. Bringing the empirical and philosophical concerns of the paper together, the analysis shows how cemeterial work is simultaneously ‘dirty’ and meaningful, imbued with ethical responsibility. In so doing, the paper contributes to debates surrounding the relationship between tragedy and business ethics, while also providing insights into a socially and culturally significant yet under-researched type of work.